1) Traffic lights: Usually these lights blink in a pattern of green yellow red green, but here they go green yellow red yellow green. The extra yellow lets you know when it's just about time to go. There also doesn't seem to be any stop signs anywhere. When you come to the intersection that precedes the entrance to my residence off the main road there is no stop signs, the cars just automatically stop and proceed when safe. Common sense.
2) Light switches: On is off and off is on
3) School: The lecture and seminar structure here is a lot different than back home. In my English classes the professor giving the lecture seems to rotate through a cycle of lecturers that change every class. Lectures themselves often differ from what you're covering in tutorials, so that one week you may be reading Oscar Wilde while your lecture covers a different book entirely. Each lesson is only an hour long and there is no time in between to get to your next class so it usually starts late. Class discussion in tutorials is very good though and everyone participates without the usually agonizing taunting of seminar leaders.
4) Red Solo cups: These things are like gold to British people. They don't sell them here anywhere and epitomize American culture. My flat mates told me that last year they had a Red Solo cup party in which the soul purpose behind the party was to use Solo cups.
5) Keyboards: Very different here, the @ symbol is where the quotation mark symbol is and vice versa, there is also a pound symbol next to a dollar sign and a euro sign
6) Style: Fashion here is very different, I have concluded that people dress as if they are part of a band that is about to audition for a gig and have mild success after but never really amount to anything. Leather and jean jackets are popular, as well as studded flats, converse and tights. The guys prefer button up shirts done all the way to the top and thick holiday style jumpers. Super Dry is also a hugely popular brand here, and has whole stores devoted to it, which is odd given that it's Japanese
7) Transit: public transportation in Leicester is pretty good on the whole. A bus runs every ten minutes from my residence to campus on school days. Interestingly, the bus driver will give you change when buying a ticket, and these are printed on flimsy newspaper paper that he rips off from a stack. However, if you don't wave down the bus, even there is a big line behind you it will drive right past.
4) Language: there are a lot of different phrases used, here are some of my favourites....
- hoover - a vaccum, "John hoovered the floor today"
- pulled - to pick someone up on a night out, "He pulled that girl last night"
- knackered - exhausted, "I'm completely knackered after that work out"
- gutted -unhappy, "I was so gutted by the result of that football match yesterday"
- fit - attractive, "That lad is well fit"
- cluedo - this isn't really a phrase, but I discovered the other day the board game Clue is called Cluedo here and in Australia
- y'alright - how are you, how's it going, "Hi y'alright?"
- hiya - hello, "Hiya good to see you"
- cheers - thanks, "Cheers mate"
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